Digital Technology & Strategy

WATER, SEWER & BROADBAND DIGITAL STRATEGY & TECHNOLOGY

PRIORITY CATEGORY: Investments in Water, Sewer, and Broadband Infrastructure FUNDING AMOUNT: $6,000,000 MANAGING DEPARTMENT: Information Technology PROJECT ID: IT-ARPA-2021-01 PROJECT STATUS: Planning Phase EXPENDITURE CATEGORIES: 5 - Infrastructure PURPOSE: Investment in Broadband Infrastructure COMMUNITY PARTNERS: To Be Identified IN A QUALIFIED CENSUS TRACT: Unknown at this time

DESCRIPTION:

The infrastructure component most strained by the COVID-19 pandemic is internet connectivity. During the height of the pandemic, the home became the office, school, restaurant, church, marketplace, healthcare facility, and the gym. Internet connectivity became a person’s link to the outside world, commerce, and many creature comforts. However, the pandemic exposed how even those within well-served areas could see interruptions in speed and reliability based on the massive demands placed on the system.

While U.S. Census reports show 90% of El Paso County residents are connected to the internet, the region’s geography and size make delivering high-speed internet to everyone a unique challenge. For example, in county the size of Rhode Island, many residents in the eastern and southern portions of the county do not meet the standard delivery speeds contemplated in the ARPA. In addition, private providers have long struggled with the costs required to lay miles of fiber to relatively few residents.

Thankfully, ARPA funds allow the county to help overcome this problem. The Response Recovery Resiliency Plan will fund “middle mile” projects connecting county facilities in a way that will provide the capacity to allow private providers to build and deliver “last mile” broadband services directly to residents. Furthermore, the county will create an open and competitive process to solicit and evaluate proposals from private providers to partner on initiatives that lead to increased quality and availability of broadband for our underserved residents in alignment with the 2019 El Paso County Broadband Strategic Plan. The overarching goal is to meet or exceed symmetrical upload and download speeds of 100Mbs. This effort is crucial to keep school children from falling behind, and keep rural communities competitive with their urban neighbors.

The county will pay special attention to project timelines and costs to ensure all work is completed by the legal deadline and all expenses fall within an allowable use. For example, pre-project costs associated with planning and engineering for broadband infrastructure build-out is considered an eligible use of funds, as well as technical assistance and evaluations that would reasonably be expected to lead to the commencement of a suitable project (e.g., broadband mapping for the purposes to find an area for investment).

LABOR PRACTICES:

El Paso County will promote and require strong labor standards with all contracts that will be entered into for any water, sewer, and broadband projects funded using American Rescue Plan funds. El Paso County will include in our contracts project labor agreements and community benefits agreements that offer wages at or above the local prevailing rate and will include local hire provisions as required by the American Rescue Plan. However, it is essential to note that the Davis-Bacon Act requirement does not apply to infrastructure projects funded solely with American Rescue Plan funds unless the infrastructure project receives additional funding from another federal program that requires the use of the Davis-Bacon Act.

RACIAL EQUITY & INCLUSION:

While there are no QCTs or large minority populations in the unincorporated portions of El Paso County, large areas within the county’s jurisdiction qualify as low to moderate-income under the Community Block Grant Program guidelines. Rural populations also often have an unrecognized lack of access to support services, homelessness issues, or economic disadvantage. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated these issues . Therefore, the county will pay special attention to these areas when making project or grant funding decisions to ensure additional services are provided to underserved populations. This is especially crucial given that during the height of the pandemic, the home became the office, school, restaurant, church, marketplace, healthcare facility, and the gym. Internet connectivity became a person’s link to the outside world, commerce, and many creature comforts.

PERFORMANCE MEASURES:

Output Measures: • The number of organizations with which the county partners to provide increased broadband speeds to underserved populations • The number of “middle mile” projects the county completes to its facilities positively correlate with the efforts of others

Outcome Measures: • The number of underserved residents who gained access to quality broadband through county partnerships • The number of residents whose number of available providers increased as a result of the county partnership • The number of residents whose price for quality broadband declined as a result of more competition in the market